Alasdair,
On 7 Jul 2006, at 14:55, Alasdair Turner wrote:
>> I was hoping space syntax could help on more subtle
>> matters. When I say that a piece of my design is ‘a
>> pavement cafe’ or ‘a kiosk’ or a ‘roof garden,’ is it
>> really usable in the way that these names suggest?
>
> This seems an interesting question, and it's what I have been
> trying to address through an agent-based approach. Unfortunately,
> I haven't had much time for research recently, but I do have some
> preliminary results from a couple of years back that might prove
> informative. Although it's not at all well focused, the point of
> the paper is about structures that naturally support certain
> activities, and understanding them by applying agents with visual
> affordances:
>
> http://www.vr.ucl.ac.uk/publications/turner2004-000.html
>
> Your concern appears to mirror to Seamon's: that there is a gap
> between the phenomenological understanding of space and the (rather
> reductive) space syntax as we practice it. Building a bridge
> between these two would seem to lead to a resolution of this
> practice. I agree with Alan entirely, that what leads to "a
> pavement cafe" relies very much on context (both spatial and
> social), but through examination of ecomorphic environments (it's
> in the title of the paper! ;-), we might at least be able to
> suggest one space rather than another might better support /
> reflect the activities of "a pavement cafe".
I am getting very interested in this at the moment (to the extent
that I am hoping to say something more in the next few days). I think
I need to sit down at a pavement café in a bit and read your paper
first!
--
Anzir Boodoo MRes MILT Aff. IRO
transcience, 72 Staplehurst, BRACKNELL RG12 8DD
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